The invention relates to a steam-operated sterilization apparatus for laundry, bandages, instruments and the like.
Until about the year 1930 laundry, bandages and instruments were sterilized exclusively at a temperature of 100.degree. C. Particularly the sterilization of laundry and bandages was accomplished in streaming steam having a temperature of 100.degree. C., and instruments were sterilized in boiling water. Water boilers for instruments have even been in use up till about 1960.
In order to improve the killing of any germs, and to shorten the sterilization time, sterilization was accomplished after 1930 increasingly by using either stationary or streaming saturated steam having a temperature of 120.degree. C., and since about 1961 by using saturated steam having a temperature of between 134.degree. C. to 140.degree. C. The increase of the sterilization temperature also necessarily brought about an increase in the steam pressure. The sterilization temperature used mostly throughout the world today of 134.degree. C. corresponds, for example to a steam pressure of 2.2 bar.
The conventional sterilization devices used up to now, which have been operated with saturated steam having a temperature above 100.degree. C., are therefore equipped with a steam boiler for generating the steam, and a container for the steam, serving as a sterilization chamber; the steam container must comply with strict legal rules, as both the steam boiler and the steam container are subject to official inspection. Nevertheless, both the steam container and the steam boiler still remain a source of danger and in practice considerable personal and material damage has been caused by explosions.